Search Kings County Genealogy

Kings County genealogy records cover Brooklyn and its long history as both an independent city and a borough of New York City. Brooklyn merged into New York City in 1898, so records split between the pre-consolidation period and everything after. The NYC Municipal Archives holds vital records for Kings County going back to the 1840s. The Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Historical Society, and Borough President's office all keep collections useful for tracing Brooklyn family lines. Searching Kings County genealogy records means working with multiple agencies across two eras of local government.

Kings County Vital Records

The NYC Municipal Archives is the main source for historical vital records in Kings County. Brooklyn birth records on file cover 1898 to 1909. Death records stretch from 1847 to 1853 and then 1857 to 1948. Marriage records run from 1866 to 1949. The pre-1898 records are for the independent City of Brooklyn. After consolidation, all five boroughs fell under the same record system.

Records are filed by borough. Indexes are available online so you can search by name, date, or certificate number before you order a copy. PDF copies of digitized records can be sent by email, which usually takes about five days. You can also order by mail or visit in person at 31 Chambers Street, Room 103, in Manhattan. In-person visits are by appointment only. The phone number is (212) 639-9675. Credit cards are accepted for online orders. About 25 percent of births before 1910 were never reported, so gaps in the early birth records are common.

The NYC Municipal Archives portal links to search tools and ordering forms for Kings County records.

For more recent records, the NYC Department of Health handles birth certificates from 1910 onward and death certificates from 1949 onward.

Brooklyn Borough Archives

The Brooklyn Borough President's office keeps its own collection of municipal records. These include historical documents, photographs, and publications that date back through Brooklyn's time as a separate city. The archives sit at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

While these records are not vital records in the traditional sense, they can fill in gaps for Kings County genealogy research. Municipal documents sometimes name people who held city positions, received licenses, or appeared in official proceedings. Photographs and publications can add context to family stories. The collection is smaller than what you find at the Municipal Archives, but it covers a different angle on Brooklyn's history that larger archives may not capture.

The Brooklyn Borough President's archives page has information on visiting hours and collection highlights.

Contact the office for details on accessing specific records or scheduling a research visit.

Genealogy at Brooklyn Public Library

The Brooklyn Public Library holds the Brooklyn Collection at its Central Library on Grand Army Plaza. This collection has Brooklyn newspapers, city directories, maps, photographs, and other local history materials. City directories are especially useful for Kings County genealogy because they list names, addresses, and occupations year by year.

The Central Library is at 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238. The phone number is (718) 230-2100. Materials in the Brooklyn Collection must be used on-site. Staff can point you to the right resources for your research. Newspapers on microfilm help you find obituaries, marriage announcements, and other notices that place ancestors in a time and place. Maps show how neighborhoods changed over the decades, which helps when addresses from old records no longer exist.

The Brooklyn Public Library website lists hours and describes the scope of the Brooklyn Collection.

Some digitized materials from the collection are available online through the library's digital portal.

Brooklyn Historical Society Collections

The Brooklyn Historical Society maintains one of the largest research collections focused on Kings County. Holdings include family papers, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and a genealogy research library. If your ancestors lived in Brooklyn, this is one of the best places to dig into their story beyond what vital records can tell you.

The society is at 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Call (718) 222-4111 for hours and visit rules. Family papers in the collection can include letters, diaries, and business records that never made it into government files. The photograph collection spans decades of Brooklyn life, from street scenes to portraits. Manuscripts and maps add layers of detail. The research library has published genealogies and local histories that reference Kings County families by name.

The Brooklyn Historical Society site describes the full range of genealogy resources in their collection.

Membership may be needed for certain research services, so check before you visit.

State Resources for Kings County

The New York State Archives in Albany holds records that touch Kings County genealogy. Colonial wills from 1665 to 1815 include testators from Long Island and the Brooklyn area. These are digitized and free to New York residents through Ancestry.com New York. The State Archives also has military records from the colonial era through World War I.

Under the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, probate matters for Kings County are handled at the county level through the New York City court system. The Estates, Powers and Trust Law governs wills and intestate succession statewide. For access to state records, Arts and Cultural Affairs Law Section 57.05 gives the State Archives authority to acquire and preserve official documents. Access rules are in NYCRR Title 8, Sections 188.24 through 188.28.

FamilySearch has microfilmed some Kings County records. Check the FamilySearch catalog for probate records, church records, and other collections. Many are digitized and free to view.

Kings County Cities

Kings County is home to Brooklyn, which is part of New York City. All genealogy records for Kings County fall under the NYC record system since the 1898 consolidation. Pre-1898 records were kept by the City of Brooklyn and various town clerks in what was then a separate municipality. Today, the borough of Brooklyn and Kings County share the same boundaries.